For the Love of a Son
by SusanTheGentleHornblower
Summary: Peter marries in Narnia, but what happens when his wife and child come to England? Angsty, romantic, a smidge of action, rather witty if I do say so. Rated for safety. Some older situations later on in the story. For my readers at Narniafans. PeterxOC
1. Chapter 1: Confounded Trees

**Hey all! So this is for my friends at the Narniafans forum who hated wading through spam and reviews to get to the story. Enjoy, guys!**

**If you want to see what music I listened to while I wrote each part, visit the forum at Narnifans. Name of the fanfic is Another(yes, another!) fanfic!**

**If not, then just sit back and enjoy. I'd love to get some reviews, even if you're not overly fond of it. :) **

**Edit: Gah, forget the whole sifting through to look for music. Go to this link here for the fanmix. I know, I'm a nerd. Get over it. .?p=1781356&postcount=931**

Ch 1: Confounded Trees

He wouldn't be able to find her here. He couldn't! Not after all of the changes and running she had gone through. He probably wouldn't even recognize her. Would he? She had to risk it. She didn't want to go back there. Shuddering in the cold night wind, she wrapped the thin cloak around her tighter. The lion...the lion had said that she was safe now. Yes...safe. But she certainly didn't feel like it. All of what the lion had said was blurring together now. Something about kings...and children...and a castle that started with...a 'C'...but that's about all she could remember. She was too tired to think any more. Her vision blurred as she stumbled along the dark path. Being human was so...foreign to her. And so...uncomfortable. She had no idea that humans felt so much pain! But it had been the only way. Now she went searching for who knows what. Oh, she was so tired! How could humans put up with the confinement of feet? She lay down against a tree a little bit off from the road, and closed her eyes. She breathed in the scent of the woods, and stroked the tree's rough bark. It had never felt so good before. And so she drifted off.........

BANG!!! Jerking up, she looked around. Nothing. How long had she been laying there? Getting up, she looked around cautiously. Still nothing. Maybe it had been the dream...yes! The dream! It had seemed so real...and yet...not. The dream was fading fast, but she remembered one face. It was a boy, not much older than herself, and he was dressed like a king. He had the bluest eyes...it reminded her of what the lion had said about the children and the castle. She rested her aching head in her hands as she sat back down. Now where to?

A rustle of leaves had her up on her feet again. Someone or something was most definitely there, watching her. She found a large stick, and walked towards the road. Eyes darting all around, she hid the branch in her cloak, in hopes of startling her follower. Another rustle to the left... now to the right.

She slowly walked over to a bush and crouched down. She waited for what seemed like hours, though it was only a few seconds. Then, right by her ear, she heard another rustle. She jumped up and spun to face the bush, and hit it with all her might.

"OUCH!" cried the bush, and out rolled a young, brown-haired teenage boy. She stared at him and the large welt on his forehead. She couldn't have done that, could she?

"You had it coming, Ed," said a voice from behind her. She spun around to face the voice, and nearly gasped. The boy from her dream! Could it really be?

"I did not! Whatever could I have done to deserve that?" said the boy on the ground as he tried to stand up, still holding his head. "There should be a law against girls carrying and whacking people with sticks! Peter, why don't we have that law?" demanded the boy as he leaned against a tree.

"You hadn't thought of it yet, Ed," said the other, rolling his eyes. He turned to the girl and said, "I'm terribly sorry that we frightened you, it wasn't done intentionally. You weren't the one to give Ed that welt. You see, he ran into a tree a few minutes ago, and the tree gave him a little present to remember it by." He was trying very hard not to laugh, but he had that mischievous look in his eye that showed that he was laughing inside.

"That tree hit me!" protested the boy named Ed. "There should be a law against that too! Confound girls with sticks! Confound trees that jump!" he mumbled as he rubbed his head gently.

"Confound is his new word of the day," said the older boy to her. She was still staring in shock at him. He was wearing the same clothes, even! He finally noticed her look, and his face changed a bit.

"Are you all right?" the boy named Peter asked her as he took a step towards her. She backed up and held up her stick again. He quickly put his hands in the air and stepped back. "I'm not going to hurt you. I just wondered if I could help. You look very tired and hungry, that's all," he said gently.

"I…I'm fine," she responded, surprised at the sound of her own voice. She lowered her stick a little.

"Where are you headed?" asked Peter.

"I'm trying to find the castle, and…" her voice trailed off. What was she looking for?

"We live in a castle!" said Ed, who forgot about his head for a moment. "It's not too far from here!"

"What he says is true," said Peter. "I have a feeling that our castle is the one you are looking for. But why do you seek it?"

"I'm…I'm in search of a job, and a place to stay," she said, tilting her chin upward. Her confidence shocked her, as did her words. What was she getting herself into?

Peter and Ed looked at each other. "Well… we just happen to be some of the residents," said Ed, looking a little too proud. Peter rolled his eyes. "I'm sure we can supply that for you," he said. "If you'd like, we'll walk back with you and show you where to go and who you can report to for work."

She hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "I'd like that," she said in a quiet voice. She had to take some chances. Taking a deep breath she lowered the stick all the way.

Peter smiled. "You won't need that anymore, I promise," he said, looking straight into her eyes.

She looked at him warily, and shook her head.

Peter looked disappointed, but didn't argue with her. "What is your name?" he asked as they started walking.

"Katriana."

"That's a pretty name," Peter said, looking at her. "Where do you come from?"

Silence. Peter looked ahead of him. This was one of the most awkward conversations he'd had in a while. She didn't trust him, and that bothered him to no extent. He usually protected people, not harmed them! He could feel his face heating up. This was embarrassing, but he really couldn't blame the girl. He wondered what she had gone through to not trust people this way. He looked over at Ed, who, even though he had been the one whacked, didn't seem to mind at all. Peter wished that he didn't care so much sometimes.

"All right, um, what do you know how to do?" Peter asked.

Katriana looked at him, obviously confused. Peter understood, and rephrased his question, "I mean, what would you do in the castle? Do you cook, clean, sew…?"

"I…" she was at a loss for words. She'd never done anything like that before. She started to sweat. "Um, well, I've never exactly done…that is to say…" she looked at Peter, completely bewildered. He finally understood, and said, "Well, I'm sure that we'll be able to find a good fit for you."

She was so relieved! He was being so nice to her, but why?

"Peter, do you remember the last time we were by here? We were on our way to meet King Lune about that whole ordeal involving the talking bear falling into someone's roof?" said Ed, trying to start a lighter conversation.

As she walked with Peter into the castle Cair Paravel, she stood in awe of the place. He had updated her on how they came to be living there, and a little bit of history of the castle. It was beautiful, and she felt ashamed to walk through its halls. They suddenly turned a corner, went down a flight of stairs, and she found herself in a bustling kitchen.

"Mrs. Beaver!" called Peter over the noise. A beaver turned and then came waddling over to them.

"Yes, King Peter?" said the beaver in a very kind, motherly voice.

"This is Katriana. She's come to work in the castle. Would you see that she gets a room and gets cleaned up? She's been traveling for quite some time."

"Oh, certainly! This way, dear!" said Mrs. Beaver as she waddled down the hall.

Peter turned to Katriana, "I'll come check on you later, but right now I have to go. You'll do just fine!" he said as he started walking back up the stairs.

Katriana ran to catch up with Mrs. Beaver, who was talking to herself.

"Now, we are in need of more seamstresses, so if I put you next to Alia, she could talk to you about what she does, but then you'd be next to Grimmel, and she snores, so we'd have to put you on the other side of Alia, so then you'd be next to an empty room. Yes! That should do the trick," said Mrs. Beaver said. Looking up at Katriana, she smiled and added, "The queens like to have new dresses, especially Susan. You're going to like it here very much, I think. Ah! Here we are!"

Mrs. Beaver opened a door on the left side of the hallway, to reveal a very cozy room. There was a loft bed, with a table underneath, and a large chest on the other side of the room. Next to the chest, was a tall, narrow window that looked out into the courtyard.

"This'll be your room, dearie. Here are your bath things; you share a bathroom with Alia. She's a sweetie, and I'm sure you'll get along just wonderfully with her," said Mrs. Beaver as she moved around the room, tucking and grabbing things as she went. "Now," she said as she handed Katriana a large towel and smiled up at her, "wash up."


	2. Chapter 2: Tour

**Sorry for the long wait! Thanks for the review. :p This story is quite long, so I'll probably split is up into two different stories**

**This from is Part the First. Enjoy! Reviews make me ubber happy. =] But you probably know that already.**

Chapter 2: Tour

A little while later, Katriana was down in the kitchen again, this time marveling at its efficiency. Mrs. Beaver ran a tight schedule, and she did it well. The maids did their jobs like clockwork. Katriana began to sweat again. She wasn't sure she could do this. She wasn't used to this body yet, and even if she was, who knew if she would be clumsy or graceful!

Mrs. Beaver saw her and came waddling over. "Oh, good! You're all cleaned up! Now, I need you to help out Alia with the potatoes, and then she'll show you to the sewing room. It's my favorite room in the whole castle, I must say!" twittered Mrs. Beaver as she pointed to another girl in front of a large pot.

Katriana walked over to the girl, not quite sure of what she should do. She was shocked when she saw that the girl was dark skinned. What was a Calormen doing here in Narnia? She recoiled, and the girl noticed. She smiled anyway, and said, "Hello, I'm Alia. You must be Katriana. Mrs. Beaver has been going on into what a fine seamstress she's going to make you into. It'll be nice to have someone my age working with me." She kept on peeling potatoes as if she'd done it her whole life. She didn't even look at her hands! "I usually don't help in the kitchen, but there's to be a large party here next week, and a couple of the cooks took ill, so they needed the extra hands. I'll show you what we do after we get done here. There's a knife over to your left," said Alia as she motioned with her head. Katriana picked it up and looked back at Alia. The girl nodded, and Katriana picked up a potato. She watched closely to Alia's hands as she peeled, and then started to peel hers. It was very awkward and slow going at first, but soon she had the hang of it, and felt more comfortable. They finished not too long afterwards, and after washing their hands, left the kitchen for the sewing room.

As they walked, Katriana became brave enough to ask a few questions.

"How long have you worked here?"

"Oh, only about half a year," said Alia as they turned a corner. "But I like it very much. You will too. The kings and queens are wonderful."

Katriana paused before her next question. "They are so young, yet they seem so…experienced. Did the lion give them that ability?"

Alia looked at Katriana as she answered, "Aslan, you mean? I don't think he gave them that directly. I think they've just acquired that through their years of governing."

Katriana toyed with this thought in her mind for a bit. "Are they always so nice?"

"Oh, yes! Well, Queen Susan is very particular about some things, so she can get…frustrated at times, but yes, they are always kind and understanding." She said this as she opened a door that led to a large room filled with bolts of the finest clothe and sewing machines. There was a rack on one wall filled with hundreds of spools of different color threads, and there were mannequins with half-finished outfits in the corners. There were several windows, which let in plenty of light. There were a few other creatures in there; a faun, and older woman, and a badger.

Alia held out her hand to the others in the room. "Everyone, this is Katriana. She is the new seamstress. Katriana, this is Klyle, Ellana, and Mrs. Badger. They have been here for quite some time, so if you have any questions when I'm not here, you can just ask them." The others nodded at her and smiled. Katriana gave them a small smile back.

Alia smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry, they won't bite." She then turned Katriana towards all of the things on the wall and began explaining what each of them were and what they were used for. After a little bit Katriana's head began to swim. Alia noticed, and kindly asked if she would like to take a short break. Katriana nodded thankfully. Alia took her back the way they had come, and in the kitchen she grabbed a few things for them to eat.

They sat on the stairs that led to the kitchen while they ate. After a few moments of silence, Alia turned to Katriana.

"Would you like to see the rest of the castle?"

Katriana was taken completely by surprise. "Can we do that?"

Alia smiled at her. "Yes, it's perfectly all right. Their majesties aren't all uptight about things like that."

Katriana blinked as she sat and thought about that for a moment. "I'd love to," she said.

Alia finished off the bread she was eating and stood up. She offered her hand to Katriana. "Come on, then!"

They made their way throughout the castle. Katriana was amazed at the beauty of the place. Not one detail had been left out. Gold adorned almost everything. The archways from hall to hall were made of marble and were carved out into intricate patterns of vines and flowers. There was a large lion carved out at the top of ever arch. For a long time they didn't see anyone except an occasional faun or dwarf, who would quickly hurry past them with a simple nod of their heads.

Eventually they came out to a place that seemed to be a large hall. There were more windows in this room, and several of them led out to small balconies. Alia led her over to one of them, and as they looked out over one of the courtyards, Alia said,

"Look up!"

Katriana did, and it took her breath away. The sky was a perfect blue, with the sun shining down on the tops of the castle's main dome. It reflected off onto other parts of the roof, and it made for an enchanting effect. The iridescent glows made the castle look almost… heavenly. Alia tugged on her arm then, and they went back inside. The rest of the castle was just as wonderful. They even got to look in the throne room! Alia took Katriana up to the dais, and as she stood at the bottom of the steps, Katriana shuttered.

Alia looked at her. "What's wrong?"

Katriana shook her head. "I would hate to think what Narnia would be like if those thrones were _really_ empty," she whispered.

They stood there in awed silence for a few moments, looking at the sun shining through the stained glass. Then Alia tugged on Katriana's sleeve, and they turned to leave.

The last room that they came to was her favorite. There were, again, many windows, except these were long, thin, spindly windows. There was a short platform at the back, and the on it was a piano. This piano would have been strange looking to us, but not to a Narnian. It was made out of oak, and there were carvings all along it, and on the lid was a circle with a giant face of a lion inside of it. She gasped as she drew closer. It was covered in pure gold. The white keys were made of ivory, and the black keys were made of gold as well. She reached out her hand, but then drew back. She didn't dare to touch something so beautiful. She turned when she heard Alia's voice.

"You can play on it if you want."

"Are you sure?"

Alia nodded, "Yes, I've fooled around before. Lots of us have." Here she laughed. "Most of us are no good. We don't play at all. Do you play?"

Katriana turned back towards the piano so that Alia could no longer see her face. Dare she say anything? Was it safe yet? She hesitated for what must have been forever, then managed,

"Yes."

"You should try the piano then! It's beautiful!"

Katriana swallowed. She allowed her fingers to brush against the cool keys. Her heartbeat quickened. Everything inside of her screamed for her to sit and play her heart out, but her fear kept her standing there.

"Katriana?"

She bit her lip. She sat down on the bench, but it was against her better judgment. She began to sweat. She felt a bead of it slip down her upper lip. She licked it away as her hands hovered, quivering, above the keys. The silence in the room pounded silently in her ears. Without even thinking her fingers made contact with the keys, and she began playing a song. If you had been there you would have sworn an angel was playing.

The song went on for several minutes, but once it ended you would have wished it to go on forever. After she was done, she sat there for a moment, trembling. Silence filled the room again. She wished Alia would say something. She heard a noise, and turned around. What she saw made her jump up so quickly that she almost knocked over the bench. King Peter was there.


	3. Chapter 3: Play for Me

**So this has been a crazy long hiatus, and I'm sorry. Life is pretty much crazy right now, so I thank you for your patience. And if you weren't patient, then I thank you as well for coming back to read. :D I'm going to start putting up the chapters more quickly now, since I've got them all laid out and done already. Please continue to review! Thanks, and God bless. **

Chapter 3: Play for Me

Her breath caught in her throat. A choking sensation overcame her as she tried to find words. Her eyes darted around; where was Alia? She looked back at the king. It was then that she noticed that he did not look mad or even upset. Whatever words she thought of saying to explain why she was there died on her lips.

Peter had been standing in the middle of the room, but now he walked towards the platform.

"I had no idea you knew how to play! Why did you not say anything before?"

Her eyes widened. Her lips pressed together and she continued to stare at him with big brown eyes. She played with the edge of her sleeve. He could see fear in her eyes. He desperately wanted to comfort her, but he had no idea how. She was terribly afraid of men; this he could clearly see. He wondered if he'd ever be able to get close enough to her to ever get her to open up to him. His mind searched for something to say.

"Um… well… you play wonderfully. You should play for one of the banquets sometime!"

She felt like she was going to pass out when she heard this. She swallowed hard and tried to push down her rising fear. She could tell that he was just trying to make light conversation, but she couldn't help it. She broke her long gaze with him and looked down at her feet.

"If I must," she whispered. Since she was looking down she couldn't see the hurt expression on his face.

"I would never make you do something that made you uncomfortable. It just seemed to me that you enjoyed playing, that's all," he said firmly. He was not a dictator! His pride stung from her comment, and he wanted to sit her down and pull out the answers to all of his questions. She was the most mysterious person he'd ever met, and it was driving him nuts.

"Where did Alia go?" she asked. She wished the maid was here; she would have felt much better!

"Mrs. Beaver needed her for something, so I was the closest one available to go find here," said Peter more casually. He rolled his eyes and smiled. "That's what you get when you try to taste-test."

She glanced up at him, and almost smiled. Hope rose in him. Maybe she was more reachable than he thought. He had noticed that she had been cleaned up since he had seen her that morning. Her brown hair was combed and pulled back loosely, and the dress looked much nicer than the rags she had been in earlier. She was pretty, in a very different sort of way. She was extremely thin, but Peter guessed that was from being under-fed. Everything about her was tall and thin. Her face, hands; everything. Not so that she looked odd, just so that she looked very graceful and stately. The only thing that countered that was her rigid stance and her fearful eyes. He paused before saying,

"Would… would you play something for me?"

She glanced up, looking surprised. Her mouth opened, closed, and then she said,

"Of course." She hesitated before sitting down on the bench again. Before she started playing she heard him walk up onto the platform. Her heartbeat quickened. She mentally told herself to calm down, and then she began.

The song she chose to play told a story. Not a specific one, but you couldn't have heard the song without coming to that conclusion. Peter was transfixed. He could see what was happening in the story so clearly in his mind. Neither of them knew at what point it happened, but by the end of the song he was sitting on the bench beside her, watching her hands move perfectly over the keys.

Near the end of the song the story took a heart-rending turn, and Peter closed his eyes. He suddenly got the thought that maybe the story was about Katriana. He opened his eyes and looked at her face. She wasn't even looking at the keys as her fingers flew over them. She looked above them, out into the back of the room. Her lips were barely parted. Katriana seemed to be in a trance, and as she reached the climax, a tear rolled silently down her cheek.

The song came to a sad end, and Peter continued to look at her face. She sat there for a moment before she reached up and harshly wiped away the tear on her face. He spoke after a moment.

"That was about you, wasn't it?" he asked gently. She didn't look at him. He waited before saying, "It's all right; you don't have to tell me. I just want you to know, no one here will ever, ever hurt you."

She glanced up sharply at him, with a questioning look in her eyes. He looked back at her steadily. Her bottom lip quivered slightly as she searched his face.

"I promise," he said even more quietly. She blinked several times, and he could tell she was fighting back tears. Suddenly, she turned and got up. He watched as she walked quickly to the door. As she reached the doorway, however, she stopped. He got up slowly and sauntered to the edge of the platform.

"Is something wrong?"

There was a pause before she said, "I don't know my way back. I can't remember the way." Her voice sounded exasperated, but still on the edge of tears. He smiled in spite of this. He had reached her by now, and stopped beside her. He offered her his elbow, and said,

"Come on, I'll escort you back." A smile played on his lips, and the mischievous look was in his eyes again. She hesitated; wondering if he was teasing her. He nodded though, and she cautiously took his arm. Chills ran down her spine as he covered her hand with his.

As they walked down the halls Peter began telling her the history of some of the decoration. It was very interesting, and he made a wonderful story teller. Time flew by, and before she knew it, she was back at her room.

As they reached her door, he reluctantly let go of her hand as she slipped away from him. Katriana had told him that Alia had given her a tour, but he secretly wished he had been the one to show her around. He bowed to her now before he left.

"Thank you for the honor."

Katriana was at a loss for words. She had never been treated so… decently before. As she met his gaze, she realized that he'd been telling the truth before. Maybe she was safe here. She swallowed before she replied.

"Thank you," she said, and Peter realized that the fear had left her eyes.

"The pleasure was mine," he said with a smile. Then she opened the door and went inside, leaving him to stand there looking at the door and thinking about what had just happened. He turned and walked down the hall. What he didn't know was that as he was looking at the door Katriana was leaning against it doing the same thing as he was. Trying to figure out what had happened.

Katriana sat on her bed that evening letting Alia braid her hair. She really liked Alia, and found that she was very easy to talk to. As they sat there in the twilight, Katriana noticed a mirror on the wall. She got up and walked over to it.

"Hello! I wasn't finished with your hair yet!" exclaimed Alia as she scrambled to grab the remains of the braid. Katriana stood in front of the mirror, and touched her face. Alia finished the braid, and looked up. "What's wrong?"

Katriana was silent for a moment, then answered, "Nothing. I've just not… seen myself in a mirror ever."

Alia gave her an incredulous look. "You've never looked in a mirror before?" Katriana shook her head. "Then how did you ever do your hair?"

Katriana thought about this with her head tipped to one side. "I've never done anything with my hair until I came here."

Alia stared at her for a bit, wondering if she was joking. She finally shook her head and said, "Wow, that's amazing to me. We'll have to do you up special for the banquet next week." She winked at Katriana in the mirror as she wound the braid around into a bun on the top of Katriana's head.

Katriana turned around and looked at her full in the face. "What banquet?"

Alia had hair pins in her mouth, so her answer came out, "Dere's a banket later next week in re-e-er-ence of our irst alliance with Archenland." But Katriana was not worried about that. She was concerned about something else.

"What will we do? Will we have to help serve?"

"Yes, probably," answered Alia now that the pins were out of her mouth. "We will usually help out at things like that, only because there will so many people there. It's fun! We dress up a bit, which is very nice, and the guests are always very polite and kind, so it's really not that bad. Some of the creatures will play music during the meal, so knowing your talent, you might get roped into that!" Alia smiled at Katriana, who had turned back towards the mirror. She then turned to pick up some ribbon she had brought with her from the dresser, so she didn't see the look on Katriana's face. Agony. Pure agony.

King Peter had said that she didn't have to play. He would tell them that she wouldn't do it. He would help her. He understood.

What if _he_ had a costume that he wore to try to get in the castle? Katriana swallowed as Alia walked back towards her. She forced herself to calm down so she at least didn't show her fear.

Alia brought the pink ribbon she had chosen up to Katriana's neck. She tied it loosely around it; making a choker necklace out of it. She also put two pearl earrings in Katriana's ears. Katriana stared at herself in the mirror. Alia had transformed her into a completely different girl than the one she had seen there a few moments ago. She reached up and touched the smooth, white surface of the pearls.

She looked back up in the mirror to see her new friend smiling at her. Alia had no clue; she was not to blame. Maybe she would understand someday. Someday when _he_ was dead. But he didn't seem like the kind of person who _could_ die! She decided to tell Alia some of the truth.

"I… I'm afraid to play in front of large crowds."

"But you're so good! What would you have to be afraid of?"

"I don't know," it was a lie, and she knew it, "I just am."

Alia took this in for a moment. Then she said, "Maybe you could play with others so that you're not the center of attention."

Katriana shook her head. "No, that doesn't help."

Alia frowned, but didn't say anything else. Finally she shook her head. "Oh, well. But you will be beautifully done up, none the less." She said this last bit with an impish smile. Katriana gave her friend a warning look.

"Not too much! Remember, their majesties are the center of attention; I'll just be help."

"Oh, I don't think they'll mind too much…"


	4. Chapter 4: A Burning and

**So somebody completely made my day today with an awesome review. XD Thanks Rasberry! That is exactly what I like to hear; what you like about the story, and stuff that bugs you. I can't get better if I don't know these things. So... I super like this chapter. Honestly, Edmund is one of my favorite characters, especially in my stories. :p Cause he just rocks like that. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I do! **

Chapter 4: A burning and how Edmund learns to make tea

Peter slept uneasily that night. Susan had come home from Archenland, but Lucy had stayed there and was not coming home till the end of the week. Susan had been in good spirits, but still Peter was restless. Ed had noticed it, and had suggested that they retire early that night. Peter was forever grateful to how understanding his brother had become. He thought mostly of Katriana, and how paranoid she was most of the time. He thought that he might be getting through a little to her, but he wondered what wrong move he would make that would send her back into her fear.

He rolled over and sighed as he thought of the conclusion he had come to. Abuse. She had definitely suffered at the hands of some cruel man, which was why she was so afraid of him at first. The way she shied away at any raised hand, her fear of being alone with him; they all pointed to it. The only thing that did not make sense was her skin. It was flawless. One would think that a victim under such fear would at least have scars or some sort of markings that would show their trauma. But she had none. Yet still she lived in fear. Peter toyed with this thought for hours before he finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

He woke to the feeling of someone shaking him violently. It was Mrs. Beaver.

"King Peter, you must come quickly! Katriana has taken quite ill in the night, and nothing that we have done has helped her!"

At this he sprang up so fast that he was dizzy for a moment. But he regained his balance quickly and raced to the maids' quarters as fast as he could, leaving poor Mrs. Beaver waddling behind. His mind raced for answers, but none came.

~*~

She was walking through the woods. It was dark; so dark that she could hardly see where she was going. The forest was thick with trees and branches. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a light appeared. But this is not one of those dreams where the light at the end of the tunnel means hope and second chances. This light was the terror of all her worst fears, though she did not realize it yet. She was more concerned about who was holding the light; _him_.

She stood there, paralyzed with fear, as he held the torch in front of him. She wondered if he saw her. His face seemed to be getting closer, though he wasn't moving. Finally it was so close that she could see his dreadful gray eyes. She couldn't move. He seemed to be holding her there; a captive forever. Then he moved out his hand towards a tree that she now realized he was next to. He held out the torch towards it, and then she realized what he was doing. She screamed.

~*~

Peter heard the scream as he entered Katriana's room. He saw her lying on her bed, covered in sweat, and Alia was next to her, holding her down. Alia looked up at him with a frantic look in her eyes. Grimmel was also there, holding towels. She turned to Peter.

"She's been in a disillusioned fever for an hour now, your majesty. She keeps talking about trees, and being found. Her fever spiked a few minutes ago. She never seems to realize that we're here. She doesn't seem to know where she is."

As Grimmel was talking to him, he was walking over to the bed. As he drew near he saw that though Katriana's eyes were open, they were glazed over and open unnaturally wide. Peter sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand on her forehead. She was burning up. Her breathing was sporadic and labored. Peter grabbed one of the wet towels that Grimmel was holding and wiped Katriana's face with it. He heard Mrs. Beaver talking to someone in the hallway. He turned and saw Susan and Edmund standing there.

"Susan! Did Lucy take her cordial with her to Archenland?" Peter asked.

"I'm afraid so, Peter," Susan said sadly. She had managed to put shoes on and grab a robe before coming. Edmund and Peter however, did not, and their bare feet and open-chested nightshirts were quite a shock to the maids that were there.

Peter continued to keep the cool cloths on Katriana's head as he tried to think of what to do. She moaned, and arched her back off the bed. Alia pushed her back down. Katriana started mumbling, like Grimmel had told him. Peter looked desperately at his siblings. Susan nodded mater-of-factly, and said,

"I'm going to go get one of the centaur healers. They might be able to help. I will be back in a little bit." She walked out of the room to go get an escort and her horse. Ed stood there looking helpless. Finally he shrugged his shoulders and said,

"Well, I guess now's a good time to learn how to make tea." He turned and left as well. Peter heard Katriana say something, and he turned back.

"The torch! Grab the torch! Get it away!" she started to thrash about in the bed and Peter and Alia tried to hold her down. Alia shook her head sadly. She turned and looked at Peter.

"Do you think the healers will be able to help her?"

Peter didn't answer right away. "I hope so."

Alia turned back to Katriana. She sighed and rested her head on one of her hands.

"You should get some rest. You've been up all night. I'll take over for now." She looked at him warily, but he nodded, so she got up slowly and walked to her room. Peter turned back to Katriana. He put a new towel on her forehead. He prayed that she would make it till the healers came. She was sweating so hard and breathing so heavily that he wondered what was going on inside her head. Her breathing suddenly became much faster and her face contorted as she clenched her fists. Peter grabbed her shoulders, prepared to hold her down should she start thrashing again.

She let out a blood-curdling scream, and grabbed her leg. Peter held her down as best he could, but she was surprisingly strong considering what poor condition she was in. Her body shuddered violently, and her breath came in short gasps. A few of the maids ran back in. Mrs. Beaver and Edmund came rushing in, and Ed was carrying a tea pot. He looked as awkward as could be, but nobody really noticed at that moment.

Peter held Katriana's shoulders so that she was completely pinned to the bed. Alia had rushed back in, and was holding a towel on Katriana's face now. Katriana continued to moan in pain, but after a few moments she calmed down a little. She closed her eyes and lay there with fists still clenched. Mrs. Beaver snatched the tea pot away from Edmund, and poured some in a cup. She gave it back to him quickly, and he almost dropped it. Mrs. Beaver took the cup and poured some of the tea down Katriana's throat. Katriana choked on it, and some of it came out of her mouth, but Alia mopped it up. Katriana was able to take a few gulps of it after that, and then she settled into a sudden stillness that seemed very unnatural.

Everyone in the room was quiet. Peter turned to Alia and nodded again, so she left. Most of the other maids began leaving one by one, until only Peter, Edmund, and Mrs. Beaver were left. They were silent for a long time before Ed ventured to say,

"Well, I guess the tea did the trick!"

Mrs. Beaver shook her head. "She's not out of the woods yet, your majesty. Her fever is still too high. But sleep is going to at least calm her down a bit so her body can rest from all of those spasms she was having!" She waddled around the room, straightening things up and gathering the wet towels.

Peter looked at Mrs. Beaver very hard for a quite some time. Finally he said, "What did you put in the tea, Mrs. Beaver?"

Mrs. Beaver wouldn't look him in the eye. "Oh, well… just some herbs that have very nice calming effects, that's all. Now, you two should get back to bed! I'll take over from here. When Queen Susan and the healer get here I'll send her up as well."

Edmund nodded and waited for Peter to follow him to the door. But Peter said,

"If it's all the same to you, Mrs. Beaver, I'll stay here for a while. I'm not that tired, and I don't think I could sleep now anyway."

Mrs. Beaver hesitated for a moment, then shrugged and said, "Suit yourself, your majesty. I'll be close by if you need anything." With that she waddled out of the room, with Edmund following her.

Peter turned back to Katriana. Her breathing was so slowly that he wondered for a moment if she was breathing at all. She looked so tired and drained. He sighed and thought of the pain her body must have gone through to make her spasms so violent. He took her hand in his and was surprised at how cold it was, considering her fever. He covered her up with a blanket, and then began the long process of waiting.

About half an hour later, Susan arrived with a female centaur name Vakja, who spent some time examining Katriana. She was extremely surprised to find that her fever was gone, and that she seemed to have suffered no other symptoms. Vakja did say, however, that Katriana's lungs were surprisingly weak, but she had no real explanation for this. She said that Katriana's lungs seemed to have experienced a lot of exposure to smoke for an extended period of time. Vakja gave them something in case her fever came back, and also some herbs to put in tea. This would help her throat not be so sore from the cough Vakja predicted would come.

Susan went to bed then, and the healer left. Peter stayed with Katriana through the night. Hours passed with her still not moving. He wondered if Vakja had been wrong. Katriana seemed to be more in a coma than just asleep. He held her hand the whole time. He studied her dark eyelashes; the curve of her neck; her round lips. Eventually he began to get drowsy, so he propped his head up with his other hand. He was just dozing off when she moved.

He sat up and saw her eyes barely open. She blinked several times; then looked around the room without moving her head. Her eyes finally came to him, and surprised registered on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but Peter put a finger to his lips.

"You came down with a very bad fever in the night. You were… disoriented for most of the time. A healer named Vakja came and took care of you, as did Mrs. Beaver and Alia. You're all right now, but Vakja said that your lungs are quite damaged. She thinks that it was probably from smoke. Were you exposed to a large amount of smoke?" Peter asked her.

She lay there without looking for him for a while. He wondered if she would answer him. She seemed to be debating with herself over something, but Peter had no idea what.

"Katriana?"

She looked at him; finally. He couldn't read the emotions in her eyes. "Yes," she said with a slight croak. This startled him. She hadn't been like this before.

"How long ago?"

She pursed her lips together and shook her head. "You won't believe me."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"You just won't."

Peter sat back, slightly upset. "Try me."

She gave him a look that said I told you so. "Last night." She coughed.

He looked at her for quite some time. "Where were you?"

She sat up and wheezed a little. Katriana stared out the window. "In my room."

He glanced out the window to see what she was looking at. The sky was just starting to show signs of sunlight. "So, there was a fire in your room?" This wasn't making sense.

She sighed, and ended up wheezing at the end of it. She held her chest. "Right here."

"I don't understand."

"I know you don't."

"So explain it to me!"

"I can't!" she exclaimed, turning to look him in the eyes. "I can't risk it." Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Then I can't help you." Peter lowered his voice as well and leaned a little closer to her. She held his gaze for a few moments, but then lowered it.

"I'm sorry."

"You can trust me! I want to help you!" He squeezed her hand without realizing it. That was a mistake. She drew her hand away immediately.

"I didn't ask for help. I just wanted a job. I'm sorry I've been so much trouble." She was shutting him out. He could tell. Her voice became very monotonous. He folded his hands in his lap and bit his lower lip.

"Maybe you didn't. But that doesn't mean that I can't give it. I think you should understand where I'm coming from. I've been looking after people; protecting them and taking care of them for three years now. It's instinct to want to help. And I am a king here. It's my job to make sure that everyone is all right!" His speech did not sway her. She continued to look down, this time playing with the edge of the blanket. He sighed and leaned back. He looked at her for a moment; then got up.

"When you're tired of dealing with it on your own and being scared, let me know." He paused and turned to look at her. She was looking at him again now. "I'll be here." With that he walked out and shut the door behind him.

As soon as he left she drew her knees up to her chest and cried her heart out.


	5. Chapter 5: A Little Spar

**You guys are awesome! Thanks for all of the lovely reviews! This is a special weekend, since I'm posting like... a chapter every day. Don't get used to this! For this chapter, I really hope you can visualize what's going on. Enjoy!**

Katriana was still crying softly when Mrs. Beaver came in a short while later. Katriana whipped away her tears furiously in an effort to hide the fact that she was crying. It didn't work.

"Why, dearie! Whatever's the matter? Come now, let's wipe those tears away. We mustn't have any of that if you want to get better!" Mrs. Beaver came up beside the bed and climbed up onto the edge of it. She took her apron and wiped the remaining tears from Katriana's cheeks.

"I've… I've been such a nuisance!" Katriana choked out.

"Nonsense!" declared Mrs. Beaver, putting her hands on her hips. "Sickness is something we can't help, so we just have to put up with it when it comes. Now," she said as she waddled on the bed over to the pillows, "let's get you something to eat, hmm?" Mrs. Beaver plumped up the pillows behind Katriana; then patted the girl's cheek with her small paw. "We'll have you better in no time!"

Katriana watched as the amazing Mrs. Beaver scurried around the room tidying up and then brought in a tray with hot soup and fresh bread. Katriana realized for the first time how hungry she was. She ate everything on the tray while Mrs. Beaver looked on in satisfaction.

After she was finished, Alia came in. Smiling, she sat on the edge of Katriana's bed. "You gave us quite a scare last night! I'm so glad you're feeling better. Would you like to go sit outside for a bit?"

Katriana shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not?"

~*~

After Peter had gone back to his room, he crashed on his bed. It had been a long night, and he was exhausted. He slept for several hours till he felt something hit his arm. He allowed his eyes to open a tiny bit, and he saw his brother's face. He groaned.

"What?"

"It's time to get up, lazy!" said Ed as he sat on Peter's leg. Peter pushed him off.

"Not yet."

"Yes, yet!" Ed said as he walked over to the curtains to let in the broad daylight. "Kings are not sloths. We are fit men who are ready for anything!" Edmund demonstrated by flexing his right arm. Peter threw a pillow at his head.

"What is wrong with you today?" asked Edmund as he threw the pillow back.

"Nothing." Peter said, firmly planting his jaw. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Obviously something! You haven't acted this way since those faun children hid Rhindon from you. Maybe you need to do something to get whatever's in you out. How about we spar for a bit?"

"No thanks," replied Peter as he rolled over. It wasn't something he wanted to talk about. He didn't even really know what bothered him.

Edmund walked over and pulled up a chair next to Peter's bed so that he was right in his face. "Come on, you're starting to get fat."

Peter rolled his eyes and then closed them. He could feel Ed breathing on his face. He sighed loudly and wondered why his brother insisted on being so stubborn. He then jumped out of bed.

"Fine! You want to spar? So we'll spar. But you'll lose."

"Oh, I doubt it," said Ed confidently as he slowly rose from the chair, "I'm already gaining points on you." He smirked. This was going to be interesting.

~*~

,Katriana and Alia had been outside in one of the courtyards for a few hours now. Alia had not been able to stay the whole time, but she visited Katriana now and then to make sure she was still fine. It had been a beautiful morning, and Katriana felt much better since she had been out there. Her lungs didn't hurt nearly so much, and for that she was especially glad. She was still a bit on edge, however, because she did not want to meet King Peter anymore. She had decided that his kindness was wonderful, but not enough to make her tell him everything. Every time she heard footsteps, she would tense up, wondering if it was him. All morning she had done this, and Alia had teased her into believing that she wouldn't see him anymore today. But with the pair of footsteps now drawing nearer, she couldn't help but wonder if Alia was wrong.

The footsteps revealed that Katriana's doubts were correct. She watched as King Peter and King Edmund walked out under the castle archway towards the lawn she was sitting on. She turned back around quickly so as not to be caught staring. Her heartbeat quickened. She squeezed her eyes shut. Maybe she was just imagining things. But no; she heard their voices as they came closer.

"Well, hello! How are you feeling today, Miss?" asked King Edmund. She turned back towards the kings, quite surprised that he had addressed her. She swallowed before answering.

"Much better, thank you… your majesty." She kept her eyes on his face. She hoped that King Peter didn't think she was rude, but she really didn't want to talk to him just then. King Edmund smiled.

"It must have been the tea. See, Peter! I told you it was the tea!" King Edmund declared as he elbowed his brother in the ribs. King Peter pushed his brother's elbow away as he shook his head with a smile.

"If you say so, Ed. Come on, we came out here for a reason," said King Peter as he nodded towards Katriana. She saw him in her peripheral vision, so she gave a quick nod as well. King Edmund gave Katriana a quick bow before jogging off after his brother. She watched as they went a little ways off towards a cleared area in the gardens. The clearing was shaped as a circle, and the boys went to the center of it. They proceeded to unsheathe their swords. She wondered what on earth they were doing as they began to circle each other. Finally, Edmund made the first advance.

He expertly drove his sword laterally towards King Peter's stomach. Peter moved quickly to his right and swept his sword into a vertical position that allowed him to block Edmund's blow. He used his sword to push Edmund away from him as well. Edmund allowed this, and backed up, still circling Peter. Katriana watched in awe as they continued to do this. They would strike once, then back off. It was like a dance.

Finally, Edmund became bored of this, and went all out at Peter. Peter easily parried all of Edmund's strikes off, and responded with a few of his own. He began delivering them faster, and Ed began to sweat as he worked hard to keep up. Then, Edmund did something Peter wasn't prepared for. He bent down and charged at Peter full force with his sword out in front. Peter didn't have time to react to this, so he picked up his right leg and pivoted on his left one, kicking out at Edmund as hard as he could. Edmund caught this at the last moment, and ducked his head, losing sight of his target: Peter's leg. Peter ended up with a cut above his knee, but he was able to jump away from Edmund before Ed was able to make his predictable follow-through slash.

Edmund followed him though. He wasn't going to let Peter off that easily. The next few minutes held a blur of activity that Katriana found hard to follow. It seemed like every few moments it changed who had the upper hand. At last, it seemed like Peter was going to finish Ed off. Edmund gave a desperate slash at Peter, causing Peter to sidestep to the right. Ed pushed again, and Peter ducked to avoid the blow. Again, Peter kicked out, and he hooked Edmund behind Ed's right knee with his foot. This caused Edmund to stumble, giving Peter the right opportunity to swing his sword back towards Ed's face. Edmund bent over backwards, but the bottom of his chin still managed to get nicked by Peter's blade. Peter's foot then made contact with Edmund's chest, sending him to the ground. They were both breathing hard and sweating profusely. Peter held out his sword towards Edmund's throat. It looked like it was over. But Edmund didn't give up that easily.

In his fall, he had managed to keep a hold onto his sword. His mind had been working on a way out of this situation ever since he saw it coming. Edmund now tried to kick Peter, who was standing very close to him at this point. But this wasn't his full attack. This was just the diversion. But Peter fell for it. As Peter looked down briefly and moved his leg, Edmund took this opportunity to the sit up and slash out his sword at Peter's. Peter, not expecting this, lost hold of Rhindon, and it flew out of his hand. He now stood at Edmund's mercy with Edmund's sword at his throat. Ed looked at him with a smile that said more than words. Peter broke into a smile as well. It really didn't matter who won. They just enjoyed doing it. Katriana stared in awe. She had never seen anything like that before.

They started to walk back towards Katriana. Both boys' hair was plastered to their head with sweat, and they didn't look quite as… kingly at the moment. Katriana closed her mouth, and pretended to be very busy with the stitching Alia had given her. She could hear the boys' panting as they got closer. Ed was giving a little victory speech.

"You know, Peter, I had the edge on you before we even started."

"Is that so? And why would that be?"

"Yes, it is. Because you gained too much weight sitting in bed. You were moving much slower than last week."

"I happened to be in bed for a shorter amount of time than you. I just did it at a different hour. What makes that so bad?"

"It's the daylight. If you're in bed during daylight, it is like a curse. You gain weight immediately."

"Sure Ed, if you say so."

Katriana listened, but kept her hands busy. She could see them coming closer out of the corner of her eye. She hoped that they would just walk by without saying anything. Maybe, just maybe. They were almost past her when suddenly King Edmund stopped.

"What do you think, Miss? Did I win fair and square? The _High King_ here says I took advantage of his poor state of health," he said with a smile towards Peter.

She looked up at them. What should she say? "Um, no, I'm sorry, but I really don't think so." This burst Edmund's bubble, and the smile that had been on his face was quickly replaced by shock.

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, King Peter stayed up with me most of the night, and I'm sure he is still very tired," she said, looking back down. She couldn't stand the fact that Peter was looking right at her.

"Well! There you have it, Ed! Proof!" Peter said a little too happily. He began walking off. He had taken the hint that Katriana didn't want to talk anymore, and he was happy to just let her be for right now. Edmund, however, did not get the hint.

"But I won! His sword was on the ground!" Edmund protested. Peter gave him a look that said that now was not the time. Edmund reluctantly followed him back into the castle, protesting all the way.

Once they were in the castle, Peter turned to make sure Katriana couldn't hear them. Then he grabbed Edmund's shoulder and hissed at him, "What are you doing? She obviously didn't want to talk. Why do you insist on being so ignorant?"

Edmund retorted, "Well, she doesn't have any problems with me! I've only talked to her the one other time, so it's nothing that _I_ did. If she's got a problem with you, it's not my fault."

"Oh, stop it! Both of us saw that she was feeling uncomfortable." Here Peter sighed. "I'm sorry, just let's not bother her for a while, ok?"

Edmund gave him a sideways glance. "Fine. But if she is upset with you, you had better take care of it pretty fast." Peter cast him a questioning look. "Oh, come on!" Edmund looked around before going on. "I doubt I'm the only one who's noticed that you like her." He had lowered his voice to a whisper.

Peter shoved him and said, "I do not! I mean, she's nice and all, but I've only known her for _one_ day. I'm not as silly as all that. So shut up about it."

As Peter walked away, Edmund smiled a knowing smile. He knew his brother too well.


	6. Chapter 6: There's Going to be a Ball

**Wow, thanks for everyone's reviews and support despite the fact that I haven't updated in forever! For those of you who have been following, thank you for your patience. I'm hoping to upload a bunch of chapters in the next few days, and hopefully a lot this weekend as well. =] You guys are awesome. Enjoy, and as always feedback is incredible.**

Katriana sat in her bedroom that night afraid to go to sleep. Alia was still getting ready to go to bed. Katriana pulled up her knees to her chest as she sat with the blankets pulled up all around her. She stared at the fire Alia had built in her room. It was chilly that night, so she had done it out of kindness. But it terrified her. She sat there and just stared at it as it flicked around. Alia came in and noticed.

"What's wrong? Are you not feeling well?" She sat on the bed next to Katriana and put her hand to the girl's forehead. Katriana pushed it away.

"I'm feeling fine. Are… are you sure that the fire won't come out of the fireplace? I mean, is it safe to leave it going all night?" She still hadn't taken her eyes off the flames.

"Of course. We do it all the time. It'll be fine. Come on," she pulled up the covers. "By tomorrow you'll be all better and we can start working on Queen Lucy's gown for the banquet."

"All right," Katriana said weakly as Alia got up and closed the door behind her as she left. She was still staring at the fire. A strange sensation rose inside her, and she felt the sudden urge to run. But she couldn't. She was transfixed by the dancing flames.

She fell asleep that way. Around four o'clock she awoke to the sound of a distant gong. She looked around at the dark room. The fire had dwindled down to small glowing embers. She sat there in the cool darkness for a few moments. Suddenly she threw the covers off and slipped out of bed into the fleece slippers next to it. She grabbed her robe and put it on as she slipped out into the hallway. She closed the door carefully behind her, so as not to wake Alia. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to go somewhere.

She walked up and down the hallways. She really didn't want to go back to bed. The hallways were dark and quiet. Nothing stirred. She came to a point in one of the hallways where there was a balcony off of the left side. It had a stone bench in front of it. She walked over and sat on it. The stars twinkled down at her, as she sat there and shivered. It was a cold night. Suddenly she heard a noise behind her. She turned quickly to see what it was.

Nothing. The hallway was empty. Her imagination started to take off. She pressed her lips together and tried to convince herself to be reasonable. It was probably nothing, after all. Katriana sighed and turned her back to the stars. She glanced over her shoulder at them. If only they could talk. Then she heard the noise again. This time it was closer. Her stomach turned over inside her. She should probably be getting back to bed. Her chest started to rise faster. She got up and started walking quickly from the direction she had come from.

As she neared her room, she came across another balcony that was like the other one. This one was nearer to a group of trees in one of the gardens, so the stars were more blocked out. She paused in front of it. A lark called out in the quiet night from one of the trees. She answered it by singing one note. It called back again to her. She answered again, with more this time. They went back and forth for a few minutes before the lark flew away. She stood there, completely alone. After a bit she turned and went to her room. But she had not been as alone as she had thought.

The next few days were very fulfilling for Katriana. She loved sewing, and she took to it like a fish takes to water. One thing that made Mrs. Beaver especially pleased was that Katriana had a very good eye for color and design. Katriana and Alia were assigned to Queen Lucy's gown, with Mrs. Beaver overseeing their work. The end result was stunning.

The dress was made of a deep, plum-colored velvet, with very tight sleeves and a fitted bodice. The bodice came to a point where it met the fabric of the skirt, and the same point was applied to the bottom of the sleeves. The neckline was very rounded; in back as well as front. The edge of the neckline was a thick piece of sky blue silk. This same silk was also threaded in the dress in the upper arm as well as the middle of the bodice. They had kept extra ribbon for the Queen to put in her hair. Slippers made of the same velvet were also constructed, with the silk used for a single strap across the top. The girls were extremely pleased with their work, and were also very excited for Lucy to come back and see it. She was due to arrive the next day, and they could hardly wait.

Katriana saw no more of King Peter for those days. She was busy, and he was too. There was no chance for them to cross paths. For this she had mixed feelings. At first she was relieved, but as the days went by she began to miss seeing him. She told herself several times to stop thinking about it, but she couldn't seem to shake him from her thoughts.

One day when she and Alia were adding some beads to Queen Lucy's dress, Mrs. Beaver came in to tell her that she had been summoned by their majesties. Katriana looked quickly at Alia. Alia just shrugged though, so Katriana got up and followed Mrs. Beaver out the door and down several hallways till they reached the throne room. It was a bustle of activity, and both kings and Queen Susan were at the center, helping giving directions. Especially Queen Susan.

Mrs. Beaver led her over to them, and they both bowed. "Here she is, your majesties."

"Ah! Thank you, Mrs. Beaver!" said Susan, who clasped her hands together happily.

"What's this all about, Su?" asked Peter warily. Edmund stood there waiting for an explanation.

"You shall see," said Susan with a smile as she took Katriana's shoulder. Susan stood next to her and addressed her, "Katriana, how would you like to sing at the banquet that's coming up next week?"

Katriana's mouth dropped open. "I… well… I…"

"Su, I'm sure she's too busy getting ready with everything else to have time to worry about that," Peter said in a rush. Katriana looked at him finally. He was trying to help her. He knew.

"I'm sure she's not too busy! And besides, she's so good she won't even have to practice." Here Susan smiled at Katriana. "You should hear her, Peter! I overheard her singing last night while I was walking the halls. It seems she had the same idea too."

It hit Katriana like a huge wave. The queen must have been the one making the noise in the hallway. Now what was she going to do? Peter saw her look, and tried harder to defend her.

"Susan, please! If she doesn't want to, she doesn't have to!"

"She hasn't even said if she wants to or not yet! Why don't you let her get her say in, Peter?" Susan gave him a look that told him to zip his lip or else. She turned back to Katriana, waiting for an answer.

Katriana stood there for a moment. Peter was giving her a look that said that he had tried as hard as he could. She pursed her lips together, and then made her decision.

"I'll do it," she said, turning to smile at Queen Susan, who smiled back radiantly at her. She was avoiding Peter's face. She had a feeling that she knew what he was thinking. Her heart started beating faster.

"Splendid!" cried Susan, who hugged Katriana quickly. Susan then turned to Peter, "See? I told you that you were jumping to conclusions too quickly." She shook her head at him. "Thank you ever so much, Katriana! You may go, now." Here she turned to address the faun that had come up to her with a question.

Edmund just shrugged his shoulders and turned back to what he was doing. Katriana looked down at the floor to avoid Peter's gaze. She licked her lips and turned to go. She had almost reached the door when she stopped. She was kicking herself. She still didn't know the way back. She could feel Peter watching her as she stood there and wondered what to do. Maybe she could ask one of the other servants to help…

"Come on, I'll show you the way back," said Peter quietly as he touched her arm. She looked up at him in surprise, but only for a moment. She quickly dropped her gaze back down as her face turned pink.

They walked in silence through the halls. It was much different than the last time he had done this for her. His presence made her feel… so on guard. Right before they reached the room, Peter stopped her.

"I have to know something," he said as he tried to make eye contact with her. "Is it me? Have I done something?"

Katriana felt like crying. "No! It's not you at… at all!"

"Then why would you do it for her?" He sounded so hurt, and it killed her.

"It wasn't because she asked," whispered Katriana. "I just decided to… to do something brave… for once." Here she looked up and finally made the eye contact he had sought out. It shocked him to see her eyes so… so… he didn't even know how to describe them.

"Then I don't understand," he said. She opened her mouth to say something, but he held up a hand and rushed to stop her. "I know what you're going to say, but I _want_ to understand."

She stood there in silence as she looked into his blue eyes. Finally, she was able to answer. "I'm not ready yet," she whispered. She walked by him and into the sewing room, leaving him standing there.


	7. Chapter 7: What are you going to sing?

**Haha, sorry for all the emails about this chapter 7 for all you who are following! I've been away from this for so long that I forgot how to upload chapters. =p **

**But it's all good now. This chapter is a pretty cute one, especially at the end. I really happen to like it, so I hope you do too!**

Queen Lucy loved her dress. She hugged the girls so many times, and kept saying how she would be the prettiest girl there. Susan had seen hers at the same time, and later on she had come up to Katriana and whispered that next time she wanted her to design her dress. Katriana had blushed with great pleasure.

Lucy had also spent a lot of time talking to Katriana. She was very interested in her, since she was new. Katriana tried to be as vague as she could, but still respectful to the curious queen. One of these times she had caught Peter standing a ways off, watching her. She had concentrated very closely on Queen Lucy after that.

The day of the banquet finally came. Katriana had just gone to her room to get ready for it, when Queen Lucy came in with her new gown on, along with Alia. They were both smiling mischievous smiles, and kept on looking at each other.

"Do you need something?" asked Katriana warily. She didn't understand what was going on.

"We wanted to give you something," said Lucy, as she motioned through the open door at someone Katriana couldn't see. Grimmel came in with a beautiful dress. Katriana gasped. It was made of light pink velvet, with a wide skirt and very wide sleeve holes. It had a neckline like Lucy's, but there was cream silk underneath. A band of the same silk wrapped around the bottom of the bodice, and came to the back to make a knot, which let the silk strands run down almost to the floor. The back had a corset-like appearance. The bodice was decorated with flowers embroidered on with cream, silk thread as well as a pale green for all the leaves. The sleeve bottoms opened on a tilt to reveal the silk lining inside.

"But…why?" Katriana whispered.

"I heard that you were performing tonight, so I thought that you might need a nice dress for the occasion." Lucy smiled radiantly. She was the kind of queen who loved to give gifts, even if there was no real reason for the occasion.

Katriana reached out and touched the soft material. It was the prettiest thing she had ever seen. She heard a cough, and looked up. Lucy and Alia were both looking at her.

Katriana smiled. "Thank you so much. I don't know how to express how much this means to me. Would someone… would someone help me into it?" Here Lucy and Alia grinned.

"We'd be glad to," answered Alia.

Katriana stood in front of her mirror a bit later, shocked at what she saw. The girl in the mirror was not her. It couldn't be her! But there she was, wearing the same dress and everything else as Katriana. Alia had lent her the pearl earrings again, and had put the pink ribbon back around her neck. She was now curling Katriana's hair. Katriana touched one of the curls that had spilled over her shoulders.

"What are you going to sing?"

Katriana smiled at Alia. This was about the fifteenth time Alia had asked that. "Oh, something. I haven't decided yet."

"Well, you better decided quickly! You're going to sing right after the meal is over."

"I know! Don't worry about it!" Katriana was surprisingly not fretting over the song. It was a very nice surprise to her.

"Ok," Alia said warily, as she finished up the last curl. "There, now you look like a brown-haired angel."

"You've certainly made me feel like one," Katriana murmured as she stared in the mirror.

The evening was beautiful. The food was wonderful, and the guests were enjoying themselves very much. The hosts loved entertaining, so everything went off without a hitch. After the meal was over, Queen Susan introduced Katriana, and Katriana walked up the steps of the dais. All eyes were on her, but she felt unusually calm. She waited until the room was completely quiet, and then she broke the silence with one, long, beautiful note.

What no one else knew was that Katriana had actually asked some of the fauns and dwarves to help her by playing with her as she sang. They joined her in harmony as she continued to sing. There were no words to the song, but it didn't matter. It was like the piece she had played for King Peter. You could see what was happening without any words. It held the audience transfixed for the entire song. It was heartfelt and uplifting.

When the song came to a conclusion, she felt drained. She breathed hard. She had never done that as a human, and she found it quite tiring. Her lungs complained for air. She hardly noticed the thunderous applause that filled the room. It fell on deaf ears. She only saw his face. The shock on his face; in his blue eyes. She licked her lips and curtsied. Then Katriana got off the dais and walked down. The applause continued, but she did not hear it. She no longer cared for it. She hadn't for quite some time. She stood in front of their majesties from both countries and bowed. The room quieted.

"The song I sang was in honor of all that you have done for Narnia. For the freedom you bestowed on us when you came to power. That enabled us to have the strong alliance that we now cherish with our sister nation, Archenland. We thank you." She bowed again. The applause roared throughout the room once more. But she only saw him. He held her gaze for what seemed like forever. Even as she walked out of the room, she could feel it on her back.

She was greeted with hugs and joyous congratulations by Alia and the rest of the castle workers. Back in the throne room music could be heard. The musicians had struck up a dance tune, and many of the guests began to dance. She sat down in a chair near the door. She found the party and its participants intriguing. She took a plate of food from Alia, and tapped her foot to the music as she ate and listened to the conversation around her. She was startled by a light tap on the shoulder.

She turned to find King Peter standing there. The little hallway became quiet in the presence of the high king. Katriana stood so as not to be disrespectful. She set her plate on her chair and curtsied deeply. She rose to meet his gaze calmly.

He faltered before speaking. "I… I was wondering if you would give me the honor of the next dance." A few quiet gasps of surprise were heard. Katriana studied him for a moment before giving her answer.

"I would be delighted to." She curtsied again. He held out his hand for her. She took it. He led her out onto the dance floor just as the band was preparing to begin again. Katriana would never forget the feeling of the first time she held his hand. It remained with her till she died.

"What was it like?" asked Alia eagerly as Katriana lay on her bed that night. Katriana smiled. She had been asked that so many times that night that she could practically give her answer without thinking about it.

"It was wonderful. Like walking on air," she answered. She closed her eyes and put her hands behind her head as she relished the memory of the dance.

Alia rolled her eyes. "I meant what was it like to dance with _him_?"

"I know that's what you meant, but you're going to have to dance with him to find out."

Alia sighed in frustration and sat down hard on Katriana's bed. "You are so difficult sometimes!"

Katriana laughed. "I'm stubborn! I can't help it." She rolled over so that her back was to Alia. "I'm going to sleep now. Goodnight!"

Alia took the pillow she had with her and hit Katriana's head with it. Katriana laughed again but did not return the hit. Alia shook her head. "You are stubborn."

But as Alia went back to her own room, Katriana's smile faded. Was being stubborn a good thing?

The guests from Archenland stayed for the rest of the week. It was a wonderful time of celebration. King Lune of Archenland was very good friends with their majesties from Narnia, so the time spent at Cair Paravel that week was extremely enjoyable. There were many hunting parties and rides taken on Narnian ships, as well as smaller banquets and parties. Games were played on the lawns outside of the castle.

Katriana found herself busy with helping Mrs. Beaver in the kitchen instead of the sewing room. She didn't enjoy it as much as embroidery or sewing, but it pleased her none the less. During this week she became very familiar with the castle and its hallways. She no longer found herself lost or asking for directions. For this she was pleased. She slept well at night after a long days' work.

As the week came to a close, Katriana was glad to see the guests leave and the castle return to normal. She had liked all of the bustle and excitement, but she liked the peace and quiet better. She was not the only one.

Peter sighed as he settled back in his chair. The week had been long. He was glad that it was over.

"Oh, wasn't that fun!" exclaimed Susan as she twirled around the room in happiness. "And it was so sweet of you to ask Katriana to dance. What a nice way to thank her for her performance! She did so wonderfully! We shall have to ask her to do it again soon, I think," she said as she walked out of the room.

Edmund watched Peter from across the room. He was leaning against a wall studying his brother with his arms across his chest. He let silence fill the room for a moment, waiting for Peter to say something.

"I did not do it as a thank you," said Peter quietly. He sat with his hand over his mouth in thought.

"I know," said Edmund. The room fell silent again. Edmund quietly left the room. Peter sat there for quite some time.

Lucy rose from the window seat that she had occupied this whole time. She delicately walked over to Peter and touched his leg. He looked up at her, then pulled her into his lap. She laid her head on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. They sat there like that for a long time.


	8. Chapter 8: Him

**So this chapter is a bit shorter, but the next couple will be long. =] Wah, it's starting to get good now!**

Katriana enjoyed the next few weeks very much. It was summer time, so the weather was amazing as always in Narnia, and it was also a very peaceful time. Lazy summer nights were spent on the beach or quiet afternoons wandering in the gardens. Katriana learned how to help with the flowers and other plants. She found this a bit more difficult, but she loved it as well. All of the work at Cair Paravel seemed to be enjoyable. This was mostly because of the amicable nature of the other workers. They deeply cared about their kings and queens, so they did not mind doing their service to them.

She found herself letting down her guard. Her time here had made her much more relaxed and easy going. She realized that she was allowing herself to laugh out loud and to make jokes of her own. This was something she had never done before. It had felt so good the first time she had done it that she purposed to never go back to not doing it.

One day, in the early afternoon, something happened. The Pevensies were playing a game with some of the servants on the main lawn outside the castle when Orius the centaur came galloping up with a message. Katriana was there, and heard everything that was said. It seemed that someone from far away had arrived at the castle and was demanding an audience with their majesties right away. Orius did not describe the person, but all of Katriana's old fears welled up inside her again. The Pevensies quickly went inside, as did the rest of the party. Alia dragged Katriana in as well, saying that they should see what was going on.

Their majesties had decided a long time ago that any business that went on inside the castle was to be made public. So something of this nature would take place in the throne room, where anyone could see and hear what happened. This was how it was now. The word about the message had spread quickly throughout the castle, so that the room was now fairly full. The middle aisle was left empty as normal. Somehow Alia had managed to get the two of them to the front, where they would have a perfect view of what was going on.

The kings and queens had taken their spots on their thrones. Katriana noticed that they had put on their crowns as well. The crowd that had gathered hushed as the large doors to the throne room opened. Two centaurs in full armor escorted a man down the aisle. As they drew nearer, Katriana's heart stopped. It was _him_.

He walked with a sneer on his face as he approached their majesties. When the centaurs and he reached the edge of the platform, the centaurs bowed and then stepped aside. The man did not bow. Katriana gulped noiselessly for breath as complete silence filled the room.

"Greetings, sir! What brings you to our dominion?" asked Peter, who was trying to be civil to a man who obviously was not.

"Nothing good, but perhaps you can help me," said the man in a gravelly voice. "I run a decent business deep in the woods. Far beyond your borders, but that's beside the point. I own a… a hall, you might say. A place where folk can gather and enjoy themselves. We have entertainment, as you have probably guessed, and one of my workers has disappeared." Katriana's hands balled up into fists. Decent! That would be the last word she would have used to describe it.

King Peter waited for a moment, thinking that the man would explain himself further. "And what do you wish for us to do for you? Since your business is beyond our borders, I do not see how we can help," he finally said. He did not like the looks of this man.

"Ah, but the worker was one who is from your own country. She broke her contract with me, either by running away, or by her being captured, so it is your problem now."

"Did she sign this contract you speak of?" asked King Edmund.

The man groped for an answer, "She… she did not. But she did agree to it verbally! And I had… assurance that she would stay."

"What kind of assurance do you speak of, sir?" asked Queen Susan, looking a bit confused.

"She… she was a dryad. Dryads never break their word. Ever. And now she is gone. She was one of my best; she was the favorite. And now my business suffers from it." Everyone in the room gasped when he said this. The man's steel gray eyes glared at Peter. Peter felt his chest tightened. The man had a _dryad_ working for him. How low was this man? Peter got up and paced the floor in front of the four thrones.

"I do not understand what a dryad would be doing working for you, sir. What benefit would she receive from it?" asked Queen Lucy. You could have heard a pin drop in the room. The young queen had a very good point.

"She did it to help me." The vague answer made Peter suspect that there was more to this situation than the man was willing to tell. He could tell that foul play was at hand.

"If that is so, then she would not be a worker, but a volunteer. Either way, I still see nothing we can do to help you. Since this is the case, I dismiss you. I am sorry that we could do nothing for you." Peter turned his back to the man at this point to prove to him that the conversation was over. He leaned over his throne and placed his hands on the armrests and sighed quietly.

The man stood there for a moment, looking like he was going to rush Peter, but the centaur guards resumed their places by his side, so he had no choice but to let them lead him out. The sneer resumed on his face, and he proudly showed it to all the servants. Everyone wanted to spit on him. How dare he enter Cair Paravel with a legal issue against a dryad?

Peter stood in front of his throne, rigid, till he heard the door to the room close. As soon as it did, the room instantly filled with loud talk, and he relaxed slightly. Susan reached out her hand and placed it on him. He looked at her with a grateful smile. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement against the wall. He turned as he saw Katriana slip out one of the side doors. She ran like she was running away from a demon.

Peter bolted after her.

Katriana ran. She couldn't stay here. He would find her. It was only a matter of time. This place with all of its happiness had given her a false sense of security. Of course he would find her. She did not realize that her frantic running had gotten her very lost. She had never been in this part of the castle before. It must be a level that was off limits to the servants. Panic rose in her as she slowed. How would she get out now?

Behind her she heard footsteps. Every fear she had ever had clouded her head. He had recognized her. He had seen her leave. He had followed her. He would take her back. She fled, looking for somewhere to hide. She saw a balcony and ducked into it. To her dismay there were no trees outside of it for her to climb onto, so she was trapped. The footsteps got closer; they were almost there. She turned, and saw a man there. She screamed.

Peter grabbed her shoulders as she fell to her knees. "Katriana! Are you all right?" He set her on the seat that was in the balcony. He moved to sit next to her. His arms were still on her shoulders. She looked at him with eyes so wide open that he thought they would pop right out of her head. She trembled violently.

"He was the one, wasn't he?" Peter asked gently. "He was the one who abused you." She met his gaze and nodded. Tears welled up in her eyes. He pulled her to his chest and wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed uncontrollably. He just sat there and rocked back and forth, trying to comfort her.


	9. Chapter 9: Daughter of Air

That night, Katriana lay in bed. She was unable to sleep. Again. But she had a better reason for it this time. She thought about walking the halls again, but she was too afraid to. Sighing, she rolled over and looked out the window in her room. Peter had told her everything would be all right, but she had doubts. They didn't know _him_. _He_ wouldn't stop till he'd had his revenge and brought her back. Or till she was dead. She shuddered.

She heard a small noise outside her door. Katriana sat up quickly. Silence. She waited a few more moments; then she heard a voice.

"Katriana?" came a nearly inaudible voice. It was King Peter. Katriana threw back the covers and silently ran over to the door. She pressed her ear to the crack.

"Yes?" she answered.

"Are you… I mean… I hope I didn't wake you." She smiled. Peter was too polite.

"No, I was awake," she whispered back.

"Oh, good. Would you… that is… can you come out and talk?" She hesitated. Then she ran to get her robe and slippers. She carefully opened the door so as to not wake Alia, who never seemed to have trouble falling asleep. Katriana found Peter standing there in the same garb that he had been in the night she was sick. It made him look more… normal.

"Oh! Hello!" he said. He was acting very awkward for some reason. He led her over to the balcony that was by her room. She sat on the bench, but he leaned against the wall to the right, letting the shadows conceal him.

"I should have had that man put in prison for what he did to you," he said, his voice gruff. It surprised her completely.

"You didn't know, and besides, there's really no proof for you to go on to even throw him in prison. It would just be my word against his."

"Still… there should be something we can do. How… how did you come to be a human anyway? If you don't mind my asking," he said in a more gentle voice.

Katriana sat there for a few moments. Dare she tell? Could she learn to trust again? Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she answered.

"I was a dryad once, not so long ago. I am not that old, my tree is only 100 years old. I loved my life in the deep woods. It was very carefree. One day, I met a man who seemed to be in great distress. He said that he owned a hall, and that one of his singers had taken ill, and now he was in a great bind and did not know what to do since he knew that he would be having a large party that evening. I, of course, wanted to help him, and offered my voice to fill the other girl's place that night. He was very grateful, and showed me the way to this hall so that I could see what he wanted me to sing. Little did I know that it was a trap.

As I went into the room with him, I saw a hag there, who ended up being a witch as well. She immediately started yelling all sorts of things that I could not understand, and later I found out that she had put a curse on me. The hag had bound me to the man's service as long as my tree was alive. It gave him full power over me, to do what he wished with me. That was how I was bound to him with what he calls an 'agreement'. I could not physically leave the place while the spell was on me. I was trapped there for years, singing for this man. I hated him. I hated my life. I prayed to Aslan that he might lead someone along who would cut down my tree and spare me from any more misery. And so this went on for some time.

Now, for some reason, the man thought that if he kept the hag there, it would ensure even more that I would never leave the facility. I hated her almost as much as him. My mind would lead me into murderous thoughts against her. One day, when the hall was nearly empty, I heard a voice that I had never heard before. It was life, and breath, and everything else that is good. I turned and saw a lion there, as big as any lion I had ever seen before. He was the most beautiful thing to my eyes, after being in that wretched place for so long.

'Daughter of Air, why do you weep?' he asked me.

'I weep for my life's end and for justice in this world,' I answered him. I trembled, for he was very great.

'Weep no more, for your sorrows have been heard.' After he said this, he breathed on me, and I found myself a human. This quite shocked me, for it was not what I had been expecting. 'You are now free. See to it that you live like the freedwoman that you are. Go to the castle Cair Paravel and look for the children who are the rulers there. They will be good to you.' And with that, he was gone. I realized then what he had done for me. As long as I was a dryad, I was bound to the spell. But no longer, since I was now made human.

Once I realized this, I jumped to my feet. It took me a moment to get my bearings, but I did so. I ran out of the little room that the man let me stay in, and into the kitchen. Since it was morning, the cooks were not there yet. I planned on running out quietly and head north, for that is where the only castle that I had ever heard of was. The kitchen was not so empty, though. The hag was there.

Seeing me come out of that room, she must have figured out who I was. I knew that she would try to stop my departure, so I looked for a weapon to protect myself with. I saw some of the knives lying on the counter there, so I picked up the biggest one and swept 'round with it to face her. Little did I know that she had already flown at me and was almost on top of me when I did so. She landed right on the knife, and fell down dead.

This horrified me to no end. I was a murderer. How could I show myself among any Narnians ever again? At this point I found my memory fading, so I decided to leave that place as fast as I could. I ran and stumbled on for days, and when I was almost giving up hope that I would find anything Aslan had told me to look for when I met you and your brother, King Edmund. And that is my story." She ended with her voice almost a whisper.

Katriana and Peter sat in silence for a few moments as he soaked in all of what she had said.

"I was an apple tree," she added quietly. "His business, as he calls it, is more like a place to get drunk than anything. I may be free of him physically, but he still has a hold on me that I cannot seem to shake. I still fear him."

Peter stood there in silence. He did not know what to say or how to comfort her. A dryad! He still could not get over the fact that this girl used to be as free as the air itself. He wondered if she wanted to go back to being a dryad. But he didn't have time to ask this, because something from the shadows on the other side of her moved.

A man jumped out and wrapped his arm around Katriana's throat. He held a knife in his hand. "Don't you move, or even scream, or I'll cut you," he hissed into her ear. "I know that you have a friend here with you somewhere, so they'd better not make any noise either. I have this knife here, and I'll use it if I have to," he said slightly louder so that Peter could hear it.

Peter didn't move. He knew that if he did he would give away his best weapon right now; surprise. The man didn't know where he was. The man looked around, but, after seeing no one, looked down to grab his sword. That's when Peter made his move.

Peter jumped at the man, grabbing his wrist so that Katriana was free. He held the man's hand away from him so that he didn't get cut. Once Katriana had slipped out of the man's grip, Peter kicked him as hard as he could in the chest. The man lost his balance and fell, bringing Peter down with him. They wrestled on the floor for a few moments; then the man's superior strength let him be able to give Peter a cut on his arm. Peter winced, and struggled to keep the man from getting on top of him and gaining the upper hand in the fight.

When it seemed as though the man was about to do just that, Peter got the knife loose from the man's hand, knocking it into the hallway. Now that he no longer was worried about the knife, Peter could concentrate all his energy on bringing the man down. He punched the man in the nose, cause the man to reel back on the floor. Peter sat up, and was moving towards the man when he heard,

"Peter!" being yelled from the hallway. He glanced up and saw his sword Rhindon being thrown towards him, and Edmund behind it. He caught it and drew it from its scabbard. This, however, had given the man enough time to draw his own sword. Peter jumped to his feet, and found Edmund beside him with his own sword. They rushed the man as he stood up.

It was a terrible fight. The man's hate could be felt in every blow he gave the two kings. After a little bit, the man knocked Peter's sword out of his hand. Peter was caught by surprise, and this gave the man a chance to clamp his left hand around Peter's neck. The man pointed his sword at Edmund, who had been knocked down and was just getting up.

"If you take one more step I will end your brother's life."

Ed stood there, not sure what to do. He couldn't save his brother when the man had a hold of him. He faintly heard people down the hall. They must have heard them fighting. But they wouldn't be able to get there before the man had killed Peter. Peter was grabbing at the man's hand, which was tightening on his throat. He had heard the noise too.

All of a sudden, the sound of something rushing by was heard by the three fighters, and the man's knife was suddenly in his right shoulder. This shocked them all, and it caused the man to slightly loosen his grip on Peter. Peter wrenched the man's hand off of his throat, and punched him in the face as hard as he could. This sent the man reeling, and also caused him to turn his back to them a bit. Edmund took this opportunity to rush up and plunge his sword in the man's back. They heard a gasping sound, and then the man collapsed on the floor. He was dead.

The two boys stood there, breathing heavily. Peter looked up at Edmund.

"Ed, I…"

Edmund cut him off. "Don't say anything. I was just repaying you for what you did for me."

Peter nodded, and then turned at the sound off many creatures running down the hall. They were quite close now, and they could see the dead man lying on the floor in front of the boys. But Peter didn't care about that now; he needed to find Katriana.

He looked around and in between all of the servants that were starting to fill the hallway. He saw her sitting in the corner where he had been; deep in the shadows. Her legs were pulled up to her chest, and her face buried in her arms.

Peter ran to her, and knelt down beside her. "Katriana, it's all right! He's dead! Edmund killed him. It's all right now," he said as he pulled her close to him. She was trembling, and he wrapped his arms around her as they sat there together in the dark where no one noticed them. He listened to her breath as he thought of how she was now truly free.


	10. Chapter 10: Will You?

**Wow thanks for the reviews everyone! Hopefully I will be able to keep putting up chapters until I have all that **

**I've finished. We're almost done with the first 'section'. About the reviews, it really does me no good when you**

**just put "update asap". That's not a review, that's a demand. As a writer it helps when I get constructive **

**criticism or feedback. Thanks! =]  
**

The next few weeks brought the end of summer with them. They were wonderful weeks, and Katriana thought that life had never been better. King Peter paid a lot of special attention to her, and insisted that she drop the formalities between them. This she had a difficult time doing, especially since Alia teased her mercilessly about it. Whenever Alia would mention Peter, Katriana would blush furiously and demand that they change the subject. But Alia knew better. There was something astir between the two.

Susan did not understand why Peter would want to spend so much time with one of the servants, but she was busy with other smaller parties and answering many letters from her suitors. Edmund and Katriana had a special bond between them that they rarely spoke of, but everyone knew it was there. Lucy was delighted that Peter had finally found what she called, 'the right girl'. He would insist that they were only good friends, but Lucy knew better too.

One day when everything was calm and there were no events planned, the Pevensies sat outside enjoying the last summer days. Lucy's chair was next to Peter's, and she was holding his hand. Everything seemed at peace, but inside Peter's heart was much turmoil. Susan was talking about holding another feast, but he heard little of what she said. Ed was pretending to listen, though he really wasn't, and Lucy was helping Susan plan for the party. When the conversation seemed to have ended, Peter decided that now was the time for him to say something.

"I'm going to ask Katriana to marry me." He said it very quietly and calmly, as if he was talking about the weather. Edmund looked at him, not quite sure if he had heard Peter correctly. Lucy's face broke out into a large smile and she squeezed Peter's hand. Susan, however, made an objection.

"Peter, you can't be serious! You must be joking!" she said incredulously, looking at him as if he'd just said that the sun was green.

"I'm completely serious," replied Peter, who closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in. It had felt good to get that off of his chest.

"But she's just a servant girl! She is below your station! You are the high king, you cannot marry her!" Susan said adamantly.

"Watch him," said Ed with a smile as he got up. He walked over and shook Peter's hand. "Congratulations, old chap. 'Bout time you popped the question to her. I was beginning to think you never would!" Edmund smiled and so did Peter. Peter was glad that his brother understood. He had expected that Susan would be upset by his decision, but he really didn't care. She could go stick her head in the sea for all he minded. Edmund went inside the castle.

Lucy leaned on Peter's arm. "Well, I think it is exciting. I mean, you'll be the first of us to get married! She's so lovely, Peter. I am glad you chose her to be your wife," she said dreamily. "May I help plan the wedding? When will it be?"

"Wait just a minute, now!" said Peter as he made Lucy sit up. "I have to ask her yet, so don't go making plans till she's given her answer! And don't go ruining the surprise, either, you hear?"

Lucy pouted a little, but she agreed in the end. Peter got up then and went in the castle as well. That left Susan and Lucy alone. Lucy seemed very pleased with the sudden announcement Peter had made, but Susan was still not very happy about it.

"Is he really serious, Lu?"

"Oh, yes, quite! Haven't you noticed the way he looks at her? And he's been spending a great deal of time with her as well. Yes, I think he's quite serious. And I'm glad. And you should be too." And that was the end of the discussion.

Katriana was polishing some silver when Peter entered the room. It was a special room kept for all of the fine china and other expensive things that the Pevensies didn't keep out. She saw him come in from the mirror that was on the other side of the room. She met his gaze, but then dropped hers quickly.

"Not going to be throwing those knives, are you?" teased Peter. He hadn't let her live down the excellent throw she had made with the man's knife a few weeks prior. She smiled in spite of herself.

"Of course not! I told that I'd given up knife throwing," she answered back. She still was not completely comfortable joking with King Peter. She felt her position as servant more than he realized. Katriana wondered what he was here for.

Peter walked up next to her. Her head was bent down, concentrated on her work, so she didn't notice him finger the bottom of her long chestnut hair. He studied her face in the mirror. He wished that she was more relaxed around him. He wished that she was not a servant in his home. He regretted the fact that she was every day that went by.

"Would you do me the honor of going for a walk with me after supper?" he asked her quietly. She looked up at him, only slightly surprised. He had never asked her to do anything alone with him. She toyed with this for a few moments; then gave her answer.

"Yes, I will." Katriana wondered why he wanted to. She was still in denial of the obvious reason for all the attention he was giving her.

Peter smiled. "I look forward to it." And with that he left her, alone as she was before to try to sort out her feelings.

Alia had insisted that Katriana put on something nice to wear to go for her walk with Peter, but Katriana didn't want to make it look like she was trying to get attention, so she respectfully turned down the earrings and necklace Alia offered her. Katriana also refused to have her hair curled, which especially irritated Alia. But, like always, Katriana was stubborn. Alia spent the afternoon making up all sorts of reasons for why Peter would want to see her alone. Katriana tried to ignore her, but she couldn't help but wonder herself.

Finally, supper came. Katriana hardly ate anything. Mrs. Beaver chided her about this, but Katriana had no appetite that night. After the meal Alia helped her get dressed in the pink dress that Queen Lucy had given her, and brush out her hair. Katriana then made Alia leave. Not long afterwards, she heard a knock on her door. Her heart jumped, but she told herself that it was probably nothing. She answered it, and Peter was there. She felt his eyes on her, looking her over. He smiled, and she felt better.

They walked out to some of the gardens, making small conversation on the way. Katriana felt herself relax slightly. She had been right; it wasn't about anything in particular. Maybe he was going to ask her to sing at the next banquet.

But when they came to the rose garden, and they sat down on a bench, she could tell that something much more serious was on Peter's mind. He reached over and took her hands and covered them with his. He looked her in the eyes, and she found that she couldn't look away.

"You're probably wondering why I asked you to come here with me." She didn't say anything, but just waited for him to continue. "I cannot deny that I have admired you for a long time." His voice was thick with emotion, and it startled her. He leaned towards her a little, and her heart rate doubled. "You are… very special. I…" he faltered a little and licked his lips. "I wanted to make my intentions clear. I care about you very deeply. You… you mean the world to me."

Katriana could feel her lungs tightening up as he talked. Her breathing became faster and her feelings started to well up inside of her. Peter was very close to her now. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek, and it made her shiver slightly in the cooling night. But still she could not take her eyes away from his.

"I would be honored… and thrilled… if you would be… my wife," he said quite choppily. She could tell that he was trying to still be the distinguished man that his castle knew him to be. Katriana stared at him very hard for a long time. She wondered if she had heard him right. Peter began to look a little worried.

"I… I don't know what to say," she managed to whisper. Peter smiled and leaned closer.

"Say yes," he murmured right before he kissed her. It was warm and exciting and much more than she'd ever imagined. She did not resist him at all. His hand came up and caressed her cheek as he continued to kiss her. It was not very long, but it left her completely breathless. His forehead touched hers as they sat there, soaking in the very presence of each other.

"Yes," she whispered. Peter backed up a bit and tilted her head up a little. He was more animated than she'd ever seen him before. He sat there, just smiling, for a moment or two. Then he kissed her again.

They sat there for a long while, just talking and enjoying being with one another. Peter ran his hand through her hair, which she had left down. She was very glad that she had done so.

"Don't ever cut your hair."

"I won't," she promised. She figured that would be an easy enough promise to keep.

The sun went down, and the air started to really get cold. Much to his disappointment, Peter realized that he had to let her go back inside. They walked back very slowly, and Katriana let him hold her hand.

As they reached the hallway that led to her room, Peter stopped her. "There's been something I've been meaning to ask you," he said. She waited for him to go on. "May I… may I call you Katie?" he asked shyly, and for a moment he looked like a little boy. Katriana smiled at this.

"You may," she answered, and the smile on his face was priceless.

When they reached her room, Peter found all sorts of things that he kept thinking of that prevented her from closing the door. Finally, she laughed and told him that he had to go. His crestfallen face had no affect on her, however, so he gave that up.

"I do have to tell you, though, before I go, that I will simply die if we don't get married soon," he whispered to her. "I can hardly stand not being with you for a moment."

"Don't worry, I don't like waiting very much either," she whispered back. He smiled mischievously.

"Good, then you'll be ready to do it tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow! I think not! Think of what your sisters would say!" she protested quietly.

"That's true, Lucy would never let me forget it," he agreed. He paused to look at her before he leaned towards her and whispered goodnight. Then he kissed her deeply and left. Katriana shut her door quietly and leaned against it. She let out a long sigh and smiled.


End file.
